Show Me Your Friday Face

November 3, 2017Leave a comment

We made it to Freedom Day…also known as Friday. Woo whoo!

This week has been hard on me. Like crazy hard. My day job has been crazy. I’m working hard on my side hustle with Beautycounter after I get home. I feel like I need a mental break. But this too shall pass .

I’ve been switching my my eyeshadow every few days since I got the gorgeous Winter Jewels Palette from Beautycounter. But I’m gravitating to certain ones over and over again.

In the Winter Jewels Palette, I’m completely in love with the Rose Gold eyeshadow. I’m wearing only that and the Volumizing Mascara in the photo above.

But I recently got the Nude Eye Trio from the Holiday Collection. The nude cream eye shadow is to die for. It’s the color of my dreams. Neutral with a hint of gray. I hope they keep those two shades after the holidays are over.

If you haven’t checked out the Holiday Collection, I highly recommend that you do. Everything is so gorgeous. Perfect for stockings. I can make recommendations for the special people in your life. So let’s give the gift of clean beauty.

Anyway, I didn’t intend for this to be a Beautycounter post, but I’m just really loving everything they’ve got going right now.

Happiest of Fridays, friends!

Building Community

October 28, 20171 Comment

Living in a small community has its perks.

I love the fact that I have a wonderful farmers market in my rural community. There are actually several, but I do have a favorite one.

And they take community seriously.

They took the time to host a community breakfast. And it was the most gorgeous set up I’ve seen. Surrounded by fall decor and pretty fall flowers, 50 people in our small community came together at a place we all love to eat breakfast and fellowship.

And it was absolutely beautiful. Cold, but beautiful. We had so much fun, and the food was all locally sourced.

I was all bundled up in my favorite winter hat, and Brad was looking mighty fine, too, even with his crazy eyes. We really have a hard time taking a “good” picture together. You’d think after two years we would have it figured out, but we definitely don’t.

Brad’s mom LaDonna was there, too. And so was his dad. And it was the perfect way to spend a cold Saturday morning.

We had coffee and omelets and homemade apple bread and locally sourced sausage, bacon and ham. And lots more. The good news is you can get all of that and more at Me & McGee Market in North Little Rock. I don’t do my shopping anywhere else. And I like it that way.

Eating locally sourced produce and meats has been so good for us. I can definitely say we have kept better eating habits since “cutting the cord” with the grocery store. And we have made some amazing friendships since spring. I can’t imagine not going to my favorite little farmers’ market now that it has become such a staple to my routine.

What are Saturday morning traditions? Do you shop local?

Monday Motivation

October 23, 2017Leave a comment

It’s Monday again.

I’m always thankful for a new week because it means forward movement. But dang. Can’t it just hold off a few more days.

We had a very busy weekend. Lots of activities and birthday parties. Very little time was spent at home. So the “chores” didn’t even get touched.

If you are like me and need a little Monday morning pick-me-up, start your day or commute with a couple of podcasts.

Here are a couple I’ve enjoyed lately.

I love the Women Inspiring Women podcast. I’ve been listening to it for a while now. But this episode on embracing resistance is so good. If you own your own business, it’s relevant. If you work for a company, it’s relevant. Definitely a must listen.

The Hal Elrod podcast stems from my new obsession with the Miracle Morning. I’ve been bouncing around his podcast for about a week or so now. So I should have some good recommendations soon.

If you need a good kick in the butt, Mel Robbins’ The 5 Second Rule is it. Take this line for example. So much truth. Just finished her book over the weekend. Highly recommend it. If you don’t want to read, watch her TEDTalk on YouTube.

What are some of your Monday motivations?

My Miracle Morning

October 14, 2017Leave a comment

Over the last couple of months, I’ve seen people talking about this thing called the Miracle Morning.

I was drawn in to social media posts and blogs posts about this crazy awesome morning routine and all its benefits.

I consider myself a morning person. I’m more productive in the morning hours. And I like to go to bed well before midnight.

So this Miracle Morning peaked my interest mostly because I wanted to work out before I went to work. But that meant I would have to drag myself out of bed around 4:30 a.m. to be on time.

Insert the Miracle Morning.

In one weekend, I consumed all of the pages of this short book. I loved the concept of the Life S.A.V.E.R.S. and I knew I had to try it.

SAVERS is the acronym for the six steps of the Miracle Morning.

Silence.

Affirmations.

Visualization.

Exercise.

Reading.

Scribbling.

You do each activity for a set amount of time, and it sets the tone for your whole day.

So I tried it.

Silence – deep breathing for 5 minutes

Affirmations – I wrote down all of my current goals and dreams, and I read them for 5 minutes.

Visualization – I visualize those goals and dreams coming true for 5 minutes.

Exercise – I work out using Daily Burn’s Barre Harmony, Power Cardio or Cardio Sculpt for 20-30 minutes.

Reading – I read self development books for 10-20 minutes.

These are some of my current choices. I’m finishing up Mel Robbins’ The Five Second Rule now. Up next is Simon Sinek’s Start with Why.

Scribbling – I write in my Five Minute Journal for a couple of minutes.

And I’ll tell you, I love it. It’s so refreshing to be up and get so much accomplished before most people even think about getting out of bed.

I’ve gotten my workouts in. I’m consuming more knowledge. I feel more balanced and centered.

Tell me about your morning routine.

Cultivating Gratitude

October 3, 2017October 1, 2017Leave a comment

I’ve started keeping a gratitude journal to help keep me focused on the goodness in every day.

Sometimes it is hard to think past all the things going wrong, and focus on all the things going right. The downward mental spiral can be difficult to turn off.

But this little journal has turned things around for me. Every morning and every evening I sit down and focus on what I’m thankful for or what good has come my way.

The journal has prompts to help you get your thoughts in order. And it doesn’t take up much time at all.

It looks like this. You complete the top section every morning, and the gray section every evening. There is a quote at the top of every day to get you in the right frame of mind. And I’ve come to love this little ritual. It’s something I look forward to every day.

So if you are looking for a way to cultivate gratitude, I highly suggest this. If you have a stressful job, I highly suggest this. If you are naturally more gloomy, I highly suggest this. You won’t believe how much good you can come up with until you are forced to focus on it. Get your Five Minute Journal here.

Disclaimer: This is not an ad. I was not paid to write this. I just really love this product, and think everyone needs one.